Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde


I do hope that one day scientists will be able to locate in our DNA the gene that is responsible for making one cringe when one hears the words 'book to film adaptation.' I think it must be related to the gene that also gets one all excited when the word 'comic' is added as a prefix.
It is a fact that it's rare to find a film that lives up to the author's intentions. Sad to say that Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' didn't exactly live up to his readers expectations in the high-collared, no ankle showing, Victorian era. Reading through the notes in the appendix show dozens of places were Wilde had to re-write his work to suit the prudish standards of the time.
I thought I'd review the book and the film as I experienced both around the same time. Unfortunately the film suffered one of those 'blink and you'll miss it' theatrical releases that plague so many good films these days. Curse you Multiplex! We need more Antiplexes with frozen coke machines!
The book is, as is the subject in the title, a masterpiece. Wilde delves into the obsession of beauty and youth and how it consumes young Dorian Gray (played by Ben Barnes of Prince Caspian fame) to make an almost devilish pact to trade his age and the physical manifestations of his experiences with a portrait painted by his loyal friend Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin). Gray is taken under the darkly plumaged wing of Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth) as he shows Gray the 'underbelly' of the 1890's.
Director Oliver Parker has some prior experience in the Wilde-verse having also directed 'The Importance of Being Ernest' and 'An Ideal Husband' and that does relate to the screen. He does however miss some key plot points of the book, taking Gray on a journey through brothels and opium dens and leaving out his obsession with an unnamed, poisonous French novel that his new hedonistic friend gives him. The book turns Gray ravenous for information, studying everything from art to tapestries to fashion and also into the debauchery and murder that constantly alter his portrait.
The film is well shot with dark streets and its decaying inhabitants. I do think there may have been someone more suited to the role of Gray than Ben Barnes. He was good, I'll give him that, but he just didn't show enough of the madness that his obsessions turned in to. I can't think of an alternative at the moment but I'm sure there is someone... No, not R-Pattz! And I must say I do have a hard time seeing Colin Firth as a bad guy. He is type cast in stone, for me at least, as the perennially pouty, brooding, wet t-shirt competition winning Mr Darcy from BBC's Pride and Prejudice. I'm sure all the other ladies will agree : ) Lets take a moment to swoon...
*sigh*
One thing that stands out in both the book and the film is the language of Oscar Wilde. His witty quips and observations of society are still yet to be equalled. His continued love affair with art and beauty soak the pages with a heavy perfume. It is quite a lofty scent and requires frequent pauses to take it all in, but my, what an experience.
I think the best thing to do (as with most adaptations) is to read the book first, then watch the film. You'll get so much more out of both that way.
Enjoy with a nice hot pot of English Breakfast tea and toasted crumpets.